Designing My Keg Setup

[ccudc9]

I know this topic has been beaten to death, but after hours of research I have been left more confused and considering staying with bottling. I don't know if I am trying to do too much or just over thinking things.

The setup I want is three kegs on tap, with a five keg manifold. I want to use the empty two for set it and forget it carbing. I think I will set my keg pressure to 12 Psi and use 10' 3/16 line to the tap. I am doing this because of all the different results using the formulas. All this being said:

With the above setup can I carb, lets say a stout to the lower carb levels it needs without shutting the the manifold on the 3 kegs or will I need a dual regulator?

Once carbed and I hook it up to the dispensing lines, will the 12 psi coming into the manifold overcarb the stout? Im thinking it would so I would need to be able to pour and carb off the dual regulator via another manifold. Is this correct?)

 

[skibumdc]

If you want to keep different kegs at different carb levels then you will need a secondary regulator manifold. That way you can adjust EACH gas line to a specific PSI. Like THIS.

If you have a bunch/2+ kegs that you want to keep at the same PSI, or serve at the same PSI, you can take the output of that specific gas regulator and branch off off with a regular manifold or Y/T Splitters.

If you carb a beer @ 9-10 psi and then place it to serve on a line that pushes 12 psi, yes it will absorb more CO2 over time and increase the carbonation.

10 ft of line @ 3/16" line @ 12PSI is a good generic pressure and length setting most most beers.
If you start to become more exacting and want specific pressures for each beer, you'll need different PSI's for different styles.

 

[nunyafnb]

As far as I'm aware, if you want to carb things to different levels, and then serve them that way, you'll need a second regulator, because you wouldn't be able to serve at two different pressures even if you did shut off the rest of the manifold to carb the stout. Once you put them all back on the gas on the same manifold, they would be served at the same pressure the stout would equalize to whatever your serving pressure is. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here)

For stouts and porters, I think the preferred carb level is 1.7 to 2.3 volumes of CO2, and the pressure you want to set your regulator at depends on the temperature of your cooler. So, for example, if your kegerator of keezer is set at 40 degrees, you would want to set it at 4 PSI for 1.7 volumes and up to 10 psi for 2.3 volumes.

A quick google for "beer style carbonation chart" netted me with a few results, and I pulled the info for carbonating from here:

http://knoxhomebrewer.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65:carbonation-chart&catid=40:reference-materials&Itemid=61

On that page, it gives a quick reference to carbonation levels by style, and at the bottom of the page, there's a link to the carbonation chart in PDF or Excel format.

Kegging is TOTALLY worth it man. Seriously, after you get it figured out, you'll wonder why you waited so long!

 

[integrator]

single main regulator with secondaries. And like mentioned above, manifolds will allow you to save some money.
You could have one secondary for high carb, one for low, and one for set and forget. Use manifolds as needed after that.

 

[ccudc9]

Thanks for the replies, if I went with the setup that integrator mentions, would the 10' hoses work with the low and high carbed beers or is that length for a 12psi setup.

 

[integrator]

Technically hose length will depend on the distance from the keg to your tap, etc. Just order plenty of hose and cut down as needed. I want to say I use about 5' of hose for my high carbed ones.
This is totally off the top of my head but you measure from like the midpoint of the keg, to the tap and plug that in a formula along....
Run a search on here and it should come up. I'd always order extra.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

For what it's worth... I have a 4-gang regulator set-up, and I carbonate and serve my ales at 10 PSI, and my Kolsch and my hefeweizens at 17 PSI. With approximately 8 feet of hose, the 10 PSI beers have JUST the right amount of head (1/2 to 1"). The Kolsch and Hefe @ 17 PSI with the same 8 foot hoses, they come out with more head, say about 3" or so.

(Not very scientific I know!)

In my case I more precisely have a 2x 2-gang (4 secondaries total) set-up:

M_C

Thanks for the replies, if I went with the setup that integrator mentions, would the 10' hoses work with the low and high carbed beers or is that length for a 12psi setup.

 

[shortyjacobs]

More beer line is never a problem - it just makes for slower pouring beers. My recommendation is 10' lines on everything. It may take an extra second or two to pour a pint, but this way you won't have foam issues.

Pouring with LESS foam is very hard. Pouring with MORE foam is very easy. So, if you have a 9 psi carbed stout that you are pushign through 10' lines, it will go slowly, and it will have no head if you pour it like you pour a 14 PSI IPA. So instead of pouring down the side of the glass, pour down the center, (this will create some head). If that still doesn't give you enough head, just crack the tap, (this works with picnics and normal faucets) slightly open, and beer will spray out and give you your head.

So, 10' is meant for 12-16 PSI carbed beer, (at around 38-44°F), but can easily work for 9 psi carbed beer too, you just have to adjust how you pour to get the same amount of head.

Shorter lines will work great for low carbed beer, but are damn impossible to pour higher carbed beers without foam city.